Batter pump with drip eliminating means



March 9, 1937. J. BALTON BATTER PUMP WITH DRIP ELIMINATING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 Jqmes Balian Filed March 20, 1935 March 9, 1937. J. BALTON BATTER PUMP WI'I H DRIP ELIMINATING MEANS Filed March 20, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4: EMMY I 3 m alien Jdmgs ,B J v March 9, 1937. J. BALTON BATTER PUMP WITH DRIP ELIMINATING MEANS Filed March 20, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 James B JZ Marc-h 9,1937. J, BA T N 2,073,439

BATTER PUMP WITH DRIP ELIMINATING MEANS Filed March 20, 1955 4 Sheet-Sheetfi Patented Mar. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- BATTER PUMP WITH DRIP ELIMINATING MEANS Application March 20, 1935, Serial No. 12,079

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to the art of baking machines, particularly to those of the cup pastry type (although it also is adapted to use in wafer baking machines), and has special reference to the mechanism by which the batter or charging fluid is deposited into the cavities or pockets of the baking machine. More specifically, the invention relates to certain improvements of the charging apparatus of the general type disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,832,891, issued November 24, 1931. In said Letters Patent is disclosed a charging pump, a receptacle having the required number of outlet nozzles for depositing the charges simultaneously into the mold pockets, a means to maintain a constant head or pressure'of fluid on the intake side of the pump, operating means to oscillate the receptacle to keep pace with the moving molds of the baking machine while the nozzles deposit the batter.

The pump in that patent includes a piston in a cylinder, the cylinder having an inlet and an outlet controlled by a rotating disc valve for alternately opening and closing the inlet and outlet ports. With the construction shown and described in said patent no provision was made adequately and completely to cut off the discharge of fluid from the nozzles as the pump piston completed its ejecting stroke, so that it frequently happened (and more frequently when soft batter was used) that the batter dripped more or less from the nozzles after they had completed their charging function. This dripping of the charging fluid from the nozzle ends is very objectionable. Attempts have heretofore been made to overcome this by providing shut-off valves at the extreme ends of the nozzles, but such attempts have not proven entirely practical or satisfactory for various reasons; other attempts have been made to solve the problem by means of auxiliary pumps adapted to withdraw or reverse the flow of the material in the nozzle immediately deposit has taken place; however, the provision of auxiliary pumps adds expense to the cost of equipment and increases the maintenance and operating cost.

The dripping of the batter from the nozzle ends causes the batter to adhere to the tops of the molds and in time causes a piling up of the burnt material that, unless carefully cleaned away, may interfere with the proper operation of the machine, as well as to cause the cones to have black spots embedded in the same (due to carbonized material dropping into the mold cavity) which detract from the appearance of the cones.

The present invention has for an object to provide a simple, inexpensive and effective means, as a part of the batter pump unit itself, to cause the fluid, when the pump has finished its expelling stroke, to be held back in the nozzle .away from the discharge 7 outlet ends while the pump is making its suction or pump-cylinder-filling stroke, and to provide such a means as can be readily adjusted while the pump is in operation so as to function most efiectively with the batter of the particular consistency used at the time.

Further, the invention has for its object to provide for imparting an oscillating movement to the valve, rendering it quicker in action so as to open and close the inlet and outlet ports rapidly in order that the pump may operate as efliciently as possible.

Other objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out hereinafter.

To the attainment of theaforesaid objects and ends the invention still further resides in the novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, all of whichwill be first fully described in the following detailed'description, and then be particularly pointed out in the'appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which: V

Figure 1 is a plan view of the pump which embodies my present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, parts being shown in elevation.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail horizontal sec tion on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail vertical section on line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a detail section on line 66 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 4, but showing a modification of the invention.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the oscillatable valve used in the modifiedform of Figure 7.

In the drawings, in which like numerals and letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures, l represents a chambered base having a bottom la for mounting on a suitable bed or support (not shown). 2 is a rigid guide standard secured to the base I, the standard having a foot 5 to rest on the bottom lato which it is secured in any suitable way.

The standard 2 is provided with a shaft hearing 3 and upper and lower elongated slots 4 in which the nuts Hb on the roller carrying bolts 1 la have movement up and down with the reciprocatable piston-operating slide 9, the latter sliding up and down in a groove or slideway 6 in the standard 2 and being held in the slideway by slide retaining plates 1 secured to the standard 2 by cap screws 8. The slide 9 is provided with an elongated slot l0 through which the shaft l6 passes so as to allow the slide tomove up'and down the required distance. At the upper end there is attached to the slide 9 by cap screws IS an angle bracket |2 which projects over the pump cylinder and has a hole |4 through which the piston rod 53 projects. I

A second shaft bearing I5 is provided on the base which lines up with the bearing 3 and, together with the bearing 3, serves to support the power shaft IS.

The power shaft l6 carries within the chamber of the base a piston slide actuating cam IT with which the upper and lower rollers I engage and through the movement of which the slide 9 is raised and lowered in proper timed relation to the movements of the other parts of the mechanism. The shaft I6 is driven in any suitable way as, for example, by power applied to the sprocket IS.

The sprocket |8 runs loose on the shaft l5 and carries one element l9 of a clutch, the other element 29 of which slides on but turns with the shaft I6 and may be shifted into and out of engagement with the element I9 accordingly as it is desired to have the pump operate or not.

Mounted on the base I is a pump valve housing 2|, best shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, by reference to which it will be seen that the housing 2| includes a bearing boss 22 for the oscillating valve stem 34. It also includes an inlet duct 23 to which the inlet pipe 24, from the source of supply, connects. The pump valve housing 2| is also provided with an inlet port 25 adjacent the valve 3| and in alignment with the inlet port 59 in the valve cover 41 hereinafter again referred to. The pump valve housing also includes an outlet duct 26 to which the pipe 21 that connects with the discharge nozzles (not shown) is connected. The pipe 21 in the drawings of this application corresponds to pipe 51 in Letters Patent No. 1,832,891. The outlet duct 26 is provided with a port 28 adjacent the valve 3 I, which port registers with a corresponding port 5| in the valve cover 41. The pump valve housing 2| is also provided with an annular flange 29 forming a part of the valve seat 30.

Seated in the valve seat 30 is an oscillating disc valve 3| which has an inlet port 32 and an outlet port 33, these ports in the preferred embodiment of the invention being located about 110 degrees apart, as indicated in Figures 4 and 8 respectively. The valve stem 34 passes through the bearing boss 22 and carries a beveled pinion 35 which is designed to mesh with the gear segment 31 carried on the rocker arm 36, which is rockably mounted on the shaft l6 and has an arm 38 connected by a link 44 with the extension 42 of the valve cam yoke 39. The yoke 39 is pivoted at 40 to the base and carries a pair of cam rollers 4| which straddle the valve actuating cam 46. 43 is the pivotal connection between the extension 42 and the link 44, while 45 designates the pivotal connection between the link 44 and the arm 38.

The valve cover 41 is grooved to fit over the flange 29 and for that purpose is provided with a seat 48 for the valve and flange. The cover 41 is pinned at 49 to the cylinder to prevent rotation of the cover. The ports 50 and 5| in the valve cover 41 are set diametrically opposite one another, as are also ports 25 and 28 of the ducts 23 and 26, respectively. The valve cover 41 is provided with a duct 53 that registers with an extension of duct 54 in the pump valve housing 2|, the duct 53-54 effecting communication between the outlet duct 26 and the port 5| as a by-pass to the valve. The duct 53, where it communicates with the port 5|, is provided with a restricted aperture and valve seat 52 with which the needle valve 55 cooperates. By adjusting the valve 55 the degree of opening at 52 is correspondingly regulated.

Mounted within the cylinder 51 which is secured to the pump valve housing, that is in turn secured to the base by cap screws 60, is the piston 6|, the piston having a boss 62 in which the piston rod 63 is suitably secured.

The cylinder 51 is provided with an oil groove 56 at the top and with a valve cover socket 58 at the bottom, the valve cover 41 being located within the socket 58. The cylinder is flanged at 59, and it is through this flange that the cap screws 59 pass.

The piston rod 53 has its upper end threaded at 64 to receive locked adjusting nuts 65, the threaded end passing through the hole l4 and receiving at its extremity the adjusting wheel 66. By adjusting the wheel 66 more or less lost motion can be provided for in order that the valve may function to open and close the ports during a slight dwell of the piston.

Instead of providing the by-pass 5354 shown in Figure 3 the same result may be accomplished by providing the valve 3|a (see Figures '1 and 8) with a small slot 69 and by providing the flange 59a with elongated slots 61 through which the cap screws 69a pass, the flange 59a being provided further with a suitable handle so that by turning the cylinder on its axis slightly the amount of opening left by the slot 69 (see Figure 7) may be adjusted so as to increase or diminish the same at the time the suction stroke of the piston is taking place.

So far as described it will be seen that rotation of shaft l5 imparts a reciprocatory motion to the pump piston 6| through the action of the cam |1 and'slide 9.

At the same time and in perfectly timed relation to the movements of the pump piston, the cam 46 rocks the yoke 39 and oscillates the beveled gear segment 31, thereby oscillating the valve to bring either the port 32 into register with the port 50 or the port 33 into register with the port 5|. When the port 32 is in register with the port 50 (see Figure 4) the port 33 will be out of register with the port 5|. This is. the position of the valve during the suction stroke of the piston 6|. With the by-pass 53-54 during the suction stroke there will be a slight negative pressure induced upon the fluid within the duct 56,

pipe 21 and the discharge nozzles (not shown),

which will be sufiicient to prevent any drip from the nozzles. As soon as the piston reaches the upper limit of the stroke the valve will shift to bring port 33 into register with port 5| and to move port 32 out of register with port 50 so that on the inner or downward stroke of the piston 6| the fluid within the piston will be expelled through ports 5|, 33 and 28 to force fluid through the discharge nozzles. As soon as the piston has reached the lower limit of its stroke and starts up again, the valve will have again shifted to reverse the port connections. It should be understood that with the modified form shown in Figure '1, when the valve has reached the position shown in Figure '1 (which is the position in which the valve stops) the suction of the piston is communicated through the slight opening at 69 to the duct 26. By moving the handle 68 in either direction the area of the opening 69 exposed to port a may be increased or diminished as desired.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figures 7 and 8 those parts which correspond to similar parts in preceding figures bear the same reference numeral plus the index letter a, so further description thereof will be unnecessary.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought that the construction, operation and advantages of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. A batter charging pump for transferring liquid from a supply source to a discharge nozzle, said pump comprising a cylinder, a piston, and a rotary disc valve cooperating with the cylinder to control passage of the liquid into and out of the cylinder, said cylinder having an intake port and an outlet port controlled by said valve, and means always in communication with the working chamber of the cylinder to cause said piston on its suction stroke freely to draw fluid into the cylinder through the inlet port and to create a sufiicient suction on the outlet port to prevent drip from the nozzle with which the outlet port may be connected, said inlet port being con-' structed for connection with the supply source and said outlet port being constructed for connection to the nozzle.

2. In a batter charging pump unit having an intake and an outlet, a base, a cylinder mounted thereon, a piston in said cylinder having an intake port and an outlet port for registering with said intake and outlet respectively, a rotary disc valve controlling said ports, and a valve carried means for eifecting limited communication between said cylinder and the outlet of the unit during the suction stroke of the piston for purposes described.

3. In a batter charging pump unit, a base, a pump valve housing mounted on the base and having an inlet duct and an outlet duct and a valve stem bearing, and having inlet and outlet ports, an oscillating disc valve having a stem located in said bearing and having a head coop crating to open and close said inlet and outlet ports alternately, a cylinder over said ports and valve and having a valve cover with an inlet port and an outlet port registering with the aforesaid inlet and outlet ports respectively, a pinion on said stem, an operating shaft mounted in bearings carried by said base, a piston operating cam on said shaft, means operatively connecting said piston operating cam with said piston, a cam yoke pivoted to said base, a valve operating cam for cooperating with said yoke,a rocking gear segment pivoted on said shaft and linked to said yoke, said pinion on said valve stem meshing with said gear segment, and means independent of said valve and always in communication with the working chamber of the cylinder to cause said piston to apply a sufiicient suction to the outlet duct during the suction stroke of the piston while said valve has the inlet port open, to prevent escape of the residual liquid in the outlet'duct without substantially displacing the liquid backwardly.

4. In a batter pump unit, a base, a pump valve housing mounted on the base and having an inlet duct and an outlet duct and having a discvalve seat surrounded by an upstanding annular flange and also having a valve stem bearing, a disc valve located on said seat within the compass of said flange and having a stem mounted in said bearing, said valve having an inlet port and an outlet port for controlling passage through the respective inlet and outlet ducts aforesaid, a valve cover fitted over said valve and said flange and having an inlet port and an outlet port, a pump cylinder recessed to fit over said cover and rest on said valve housing, a piston in said cylinder, means to reciprocate said piston and to oscillate said valve in timed relation to one another, said valve cover and said valve housing having a relatively small by-pass duct from the outlet port of said valve cover to the outlet duct of said valve housing, said by-pass duct including a needle valve seat in said valve cover, and a needle valve mounted in an aperture in said pump cylinder and valve cover for cooperation with said needle valve seat to govern the passage of batter through the by-pass.

JAMES BALTON. 

